Box Score
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. — Although the score was tied at halftime, Hampden-Sydney College capitalized on three second half goals to defeat the Averett 5-3 in both teams' season-opener on Wednesday afternoon.
Hampden-Sydney (1-0), the preseason favorite in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, was able to get on the board within the first few minutes of the ball game when Nick DeProspero snuck the ball into the Averett net less than two minutes into the game.
The Cougars (0-1) battled back and pressured Hampden-Sydney goalkeeper John Robert Pyler with shots by sophomore
Richard Bjornander and freshman
Aldo Ramirez within the next few minutes. Averett freshman
Mark-Antony Liljeklev was able to take advantage of a pass from sophomore
John Thrower and head the ball into the net at the 19:52 mark to even the score at 1-1.
Averett took its only lead of the day less than 10 minutes later when freshman
Dan Eborall was also able to capitalize on a pass from Thrower to give the Cougars a 2-1 advantage. The lead would be short-lived, however, because the Tigers’ Bryan Wharton was able to notch the second goal for his team with only 35 seconds remaining in the first half.
After trading goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, Hampden-Sydney’s Justin Pugh was able to give his team a 4-3 lead 70 minutes into the contest. Ten minutes later, Andrew Berg added an insurance goal to help seal the win.
Liljeklev finished with two goals on the afternoon in his first collegiate contest. His second goal was assisted by freshman
James Grogan.
Averett will return to action on Saturday when it travels to Greensboro, N.C., for a neutral match against Covenant College.